The classic game Ra by Reiner Knizia of auctioning is being brought back into print in a new version with new artwork Ian O’Toole by 25th Century Games.

Find the Gamefound campaign here.

Pros

• Proven Game
• Even the standard version is nicer
• Good Price

Cons

• Will Come to Retail with Standard Version

The Page

This is a very nice looking page, and the rules are pretty high on it. Even before you get to the point where you would likely pledge. And because the rules for this game are generally pretty simple, it makes it easier to understand from the page how to play.

I also think that they do a solid job of showing off the differences between the editions or versions of the game. And while I do think that the wooden tokens are nice, I find them to be a little bit more than I’d want. Same with the metal coins, for a person who loves their deluxe editions, it offers nice things. For me, that is not as much of a selling point as it could be. And I find the metal point tokens to just look okay.

The Game

So, this is a game that I’ve actually played before. The original printing of Ra is not easy to find and doesn’t look this good. But still a nice game. I do find it simple, and while it floats around my Top 100 games, on the lower end, it isn’t one that I’ve picked up myself yet.

Auctioning

Ra is an auction and set collection game where the most interesting thing is the auction. You bid, and then the winning tile goes into the middle, and you, who wins, gets the tile that was there. You can’t immediately, then bid with that tile, but with the game played over several rounds, you can then bid with it in a future round. It makes an interesting economy for the game.

For example, it’s a good set-up of tiles to get, but the one is in the middle. So I could bid with the highest number, 16, and for sure I get those tiles. But now I am going to get the one at the cost of my 16. Is the value of those tiles there for me. Maybe it is, maybe it’ll give me a lot of points. Now, though, you win the 16 with a nine the next time, or even a six, let’s say. You’ve gotten a massive improvement for your bidding whereas, my one is likely going to be whatever tiles are left next round.

Set Collection

The set collection element is good, too. Mainly because it causes you to really think about what you want to take. To look at my example, again, it might be that there are tiles that just aren’t worth it for me in the collection for the bid and it might be good for you. I only can win two bids per round, so do I want to spend a decent bid hoping to get you to spend more on it? It’s an interesting decision making space, or do I bid a lot to keep you from getting more points and hoping the next set of tiles isn’t what I want, or still really good for you?

Back or Brick

I am very torn on this one what to do. I enjoy Ra a lot. And this is a great looking version of the game. It is also cheaper than the out of print version. But do I back it now, or later? Right now, I lean towards this being a Brick for me. Not because I don’t want Ra, I do, but because I can get it later at retail.

The downside of waiting is that I might not get a copy in the original print run. In that case, I might wait for a while to get it. If I back it now on Gamefound, then I am going to get the game. It is made trickier because I don’t care of the deluxe edition. I think it offers some nice upgrades, but not ones that I need. A more standard product from 25th Century Games is still very good quality.

How about for you, is Ra a Back or a Brick?

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